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Weight Loss
Surgery
Weight Loss Surgery Type 2. Lap-Band Surgery
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What is the Lap-Band
System?
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How the Lap works
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Best candidates for Lap-Band surgery
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Costs and Prices of Lap-Band surgery
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Lap-Band placement
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How the port works
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Recovery and aftercare
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Possible complications
 How the
port works
Injecting saline into the port inflates the band, making the passage
to the lower part of the stomach smaller, which further restricts
food intake. Fluid can easily be removed in the doctor's office if
it is too tight.
After Lap-Band Surgery : Recovery and
Aftercare
Following surgery, you should be able to return to work within a
week, with minimal discomfort. You will need to follow a nutrition
plan (which may include vitamin supplements) prescribed by your
surgeon and/or nutritionist. The nutrition plan will likely include
a liquid diet for a few weeks, until you can tolerate soft foods,
and later solid foods. A specific exercise program, as well as
behavioral-modification therapy, may also be recommended.
Frequent office visits are mandatory to adjust the band. Your
surgeon or his assistant will be able to inject the port in the
office. On average, patients require six to eight adjustments of the
band during the first 18 months following Lap-Band surgery.
Patients typically lose 50% to 60% of their excess body weight
within two years after the procedure. Additional plastic surgery may
be indicated, depending on how much weight is lost.
Lap-Band System
Complications
As with any surgical procedure, there are known risks. Besides the
standard risks of most procedures, including bleeding and infection,
there are complications specific to Lap-Band surgery. Slippage of
the band can occur as you lose weight and the stomach goes above the
band, causing heartburn or vomiting. This can usually be fixed
laparoscopically. Rarely, the band may erode into the inside of the
stomach.
Laparoscopic surgery is not always possible. Your surgeon may need
to use an "open" method. This happened in about 5% of the cases in
the U.S. clinical study. Other problems can occur that are directly
related to the Lap-Band System:
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The band can spontaneously deflate because of leakage. That leakage
can come from the band, the reservoir, or the tubing that connects
them.
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The stomach pouch can enlarge.
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The stoma (stomach outlet) can be blocked.
Costs
and Prices of Lap-Band Surgery
The cost of Lap-Band surgery varies from about $17,000 to $30,000,
depending on where you live. In the past, insurance companies did
not cover this procedure, but increasingly they are paying for all
or part of it if medical necessity is established by your doctor and
if you meet the NIH requirements described above.
 Back
:
What is the Lap-Band
System?
How the Lap works
Best candidates for Lap-Band surgery
Lap-Band placement
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